12/31/2016 – Bruce Freeman Year End Appeal. Bridge the Phase 2B Gap

IMPORTANT UPDATE 02/05/2017: The state has decided to step up and fund the remaining $350K of the design work. Please stay tuned for additional information on this exciting development. At this time the FBFRT have suspended the Bridge the Gap campaign and will be contacting donors about their donations to the campaign.

It happened again. My last minute appeal is really last minute. Like last year I will blame a lot of year end work (yes, I will be putting in hours this weekend), holiday obligations, but then throw in a family member that needed hospitalization after a car accident and who is recuperating nicely and be released soon, but as you might imagine have caused havoc in my schedule for the last week. So this is a last minute year-end appeal

Besides all the costs for kiosks, benches, porta-johns, trail signage, replacement pedestrian crossing system, maintenance of website and customer relationship management system, insurance, and hopefully ribbon cutting party for Phase 2A in Acton, Carlisle & Westford, and groundbreaking party of Phase 2C in Concord, we are going to incur major costs in 2017.

We are going to start 2017 with a “BFRT Phase 2B Bridge the Gap” fundraising campaign and political push for funding the final design of Phase 2B (the connection between Phase 2A and Phase 2C, and basically the mile long segment and bridge across Route 2 in Acton to Concord). It is complicated but the design

It turns out the final design for the very complicated Phase 2B and bridges over Route 2 and Nashoba Brook will cost ~$1,050,000. Between Acton and Concord the Towns have or are appropriating $700,000 in design. That leaves a $350,000 funding gap.

In January the FBFRT will officially convene and kick-off a fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $50,000 of the $350,000 needed to pay for the Phase 2B design. Simultaneously we will be asking the state legislators and the MassDOT to pay for the remaining $300,000. We figure the $50,000 from FBFRT fundraising “by putting our money where our mouth is” will help support the appeal from the state to ante up the last $300,000.

Even if you can’t donate money, we will be convening a Bridge the Gap committee to execute mailings, writing up appeals, contacting the powers that be, social media campaigns, etc.

So please either donate to the general amenities fund (we will set up a Phase 2B – Bridge the Gap fund in January, but you can note “Phase 2B Bridge the Gap” in the comment section)